Republic runner Ryan Way took the bronze medal in the 2000-meter steeplechase at the AAU Junior Olympics today in Houston. Way ran the race in a time of 6:34.09. That’s about 25 seconds faster than he ran the same event at regionals, where he finished third to qualify for nationals.

Steeplechase is an obstacle course event that combines distance running with barriers and water jumps.

It’s the second straight year that Way has earned AAU All-American honors. He finished seventh nationally last year in the 3000-meter run.